SC sheriff charged with sending ‘obscene sexual’ photo suspended by governor

Noah Feit, David Travis Bland, Andrew Dys
·3 min read

A South Carolina sheriff is in trouble with the law.

Union County Sheriff David Taylor has been indicted for sending a sexually obscene photo from his county cell phone, according to authorities.

The county grand jury indicted Taylor on two counts: one for sending obscene material and one for misconduct in office, the S.C. Attorney General’s Office announced Thursday.

In September 2015, Taylor sent “indecent, inappropriate and obscene” text messages and a photo “depicting obscene sexual conduct” to a person in Union County, the indictment said.

Taylor is jailed and awaiting a bond hearing as of Thursday afternoon, according to the authorities.

Also on Thursday, Gov. Henry McMaster suspended Taylor from office and put City of Union Police Chief Sam White in charge of the county sheriff’s office. White will serve until a new sheriff is elected in November.

Under South Carolina law, the governor can remove an elected county official from office if the official is charged with crimes of “moral turpitude.”

The Attorney General’s Office will handle the case against Taylor, said Kevin Brackett, the solicitor for the 16th Judicial Circuit, which is made up of York and Union counties.

Brackett said the attorney general’s office took over the case and any prosecution to avoid any conflict of interest that might arise from Brackett’s office dealing with Sheriff Taylor and his office on so many other cases.

Taylor’s arraignment is set for Tuesday July 14 at 11 a.m. in the Union County Courthouse, court officials said. The judge will be York County Circuit Judge Bill McKinnon.

Even if Taylor wasn’t suspended, his time as sheriff was ending this year. In June, he lost in the primary election, garnering only nine percent of the vote.

Scandal has marred the Union County Sheriff’s Office for years.

In February 2018, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division began an investigation into the office’s finances after Taylor reported irregularities to the state police.

That investigation took a turn when an employee of the sheriff’s office told investigators that Taylor’s behavior as sheriff was “immoral,” according to reports.

Investigators discovered that Taylor had sent lewd text messages to deputies and asked others to buy him alcohol while on duty, the AP reported.

Taylor said some of the allegations were true but others were not. Ultimately, prosecutors cleared Taylor of any criminal wrongdoing from the 2018 investigation.

But Taylor didn’t escape reprimand. Union County Council asked Taylor to resign in February but he refused.

The latest charges come after a two month long SLED investigation.

Common law misconduct in office is a misdemeanor and sending obscene material a felony. If guilty, Taylor could be sentenced up to 15 years in prison.

Taylor isn’t the first Union County sheriff to be charged with a crime.

In September 2010, former Union County Sheriff Howard Wells was sentenced to 90 days in prison for financial offenses, including. lying to federal agents.

A slew of South Carolina sheriffs have been charged, indicted or have pleaded guilty to crimes during the last year.

In January, former Florence County Sheriff Kenney Boone pleaded guilty to embezzlement. In 2019, former Greenville County Sheriff Will Lewis was sentenced for misconduct in office after prosecutors proved he was using public money to pursue an extramarital affair. Also last year, former Colleton County Sheriff R.A. Strickland was charged with domestic violence.